DENVER – A gut-punch to end the first half. Stifling, physical defense. Relentless screening.
MSU Denver overcame all of those Sunday to grind out a 60-54 victory over Arkansas-Fort Smith in men's basketball at the Auraria Event Center.
"I told our guys in the locker room that we'll look back on this game and it will be a defining game for us," MSU Denver coach
Michael Bahl said. "In years past, I don't know if we win a game like this early in the year.
"Down the stretch we had to hit some big-time free throws. When we had to get a stop, we got a stop. We held a team to 23 points in the second half after being down five at halftime. We weren't making shots, but we still found a way to win."
MSU Denver trailed 42-34 with 13:31 left before mounting a comeback.
Ghage Kenan, making his Roadrunners debut, came off the bench to make a 3-pointer to get his team within 44-42, and his deflection led to a steal and fast break, with Kenan feeding
Miles Gibson for a dunk that kept MSU Denver within 47-44.
"Ghage is a ball of energy," Gibson said. "He's perfect for our team. When he came in, I knew he was going to be a spark. And that's exactly what he was."
Said Bahl: "We've got 12 dudes, and it's hard to play everybody. Ghage has been working his tail off, and one thing you know is he's going to play as hard as he possibly can. He sparked us and rejuvenated us."
MSU Denver eventually took a 51-50 lead on a basket by
Maris Colton and, after the teams traded the lead twice, the Roadrunners took the lead for good on a Gibson free throw with 5:24 to go.
The Roadrunners never led by more than six the rest of the way, but were able to keep the Lions at bay.
"Give Coach (Jim) Boone credit, he's been doing it for over 30 years, over 500 career wins, and he's done a phenomenal job with that group," Bahl said.
Gibson and
Laolu Oke were double trouble for the Roadrunners. Each had a double-double.
Gibson had 19 points and 12 rebounds, while Oke – held to just one first-half rebound – finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Oke, who extended his school-record streak to six double-doubles in a row, had 23 points and 18 rebounds in Saturday's season opener.
"I had to adjust at halftime," Oke said. "I had to keep going – that's what I do best. The second half I showed what I can do."
MSU Denver made just 34.6 percent from the field in the first half and only 37.3 percent overall. After making just 5 of 10 free throws in the first half, the Roadrunners made 11 of 13 after the break – including 10 for 12 in the final 7:32.
While making free throws and getting clutch baskets on one end, the Roadrunners had to work hard defensively against the Lions' offense, with shooters curling around seemingly in circles on screens set along the baseline
"It was pretty tough to defend," Gibson said. "They've got some good shooters. They're not a bad team at all. But we were prepared for it, and we had to execute it."
The happy result came after halftime uncertainty. Arkansas-Fort Smith outscored MSU Denver 12-0 over the last 4:53, with Chris Rollins hitting a corner 3 just before the buzzer after taking a pass from Daryl McElrath who had the ball in a seated position in the lane. The Lions had turned a 26-19 deficit into a 31-26 lead.
"All the momentum went their way," Bahl said. "But we fell back on who we are as a team. We're a blue-collar program that prides itself on defense and rebounding. We challenged our guys. We told them we were going to be tested, but if we rebound and take care of the ball, we're going to be just fine."
MSU Denver improved to 2-0 for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
"I think you need wins like that, especially since in our league we play back-to-back nights," Oke said. "We got ourselves down, but we were able to push through and that was big-time win."
